Collage of digitally manipulated images by Judit Musachs and Pol Pérez selected by the curatorial team.Images captioned clockwise: Bangkok Oportunistic Ecologies, drawing by Animali Domestici; Reino Mineral, drawing by Lluis Alexandre Casanovas; Closer Each Day: The Architecture of Everyday Death for The Canadian Centre for Architecture, drawing by Comon Acounts; Athens By Hills, drawing by Point Supreme; Nora House, drawing by Atelier Bow-wow; P.A.R.C, drawing by Adrià Escolano & David Steegman; Isometric Fence Mount Fenell 1950; Phyla, drawing by TAKK; Jardins Elementaires, Villa Medici, drawing by Michel Desvigne; Cover from Athenian Primitivism, drawing by Al White.

Catalysts of Resilience

The organisers of the UIA 2026 Barcelona World Congress of Architects, the Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos de España (CSCAE) and the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC), invite architecture students worldwide to participate in the international single-stage ideas competition “Catalysts of Resilience.”

The competition is organised and conducted in accordance with UNESCO Standard Regulations for International Competitions in Architecture and Town Planning and the UIA best practice recommendations in the framework of the UIA 2026 Barcelona World Congress of Architects that will take place on 28 June – 2 July 2026.

The Questions and Answers are available here

Prizes

1st prize 5000€ and a certificate.
2nd prize 4000€ and a certificate.
3rd prize 3000€ and a certificate.
4th prize 2000€ and a certificate.
5th prize 1000€ and a certificate.

Theme and objectives

Participants are invited to engage with the theme “Catalysts of Resilience” by addressing vulnerable places at risk of future habitational discomfort, inequality, or collapse. The competition calls for spatial interventions that support resistance and adaptation to foreseeable threats resulting from political shifts, social transformations, and climate change. Proposals should explore how resilience can be fostered by using time as a design tool.

Key criteria

The criteria, in no particular order of importance, include:

Relevance to the theme: Alignment with Catalysts of Resilience and the use of time as a design tool.
Site analysis and context: Depth of understanding of the site’s vulnerabilities, potential, and cultural/ecological layers.
Innovation and adaptive strategies: Creativity and effectiveness in proposing time-based, resilient interventions.
Clarity and communication: Strength of narrative and effectiveness of visual representation.
Scalability and impact: Consideration of multiple scales and long-term transformative potential.

Jury Members

Josep Ferrando (Spain), Architect – Jury Chair
Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico), Architect
Marianna Rentzou (Greece), Architect
Sumayya Vally (South Africa), Architect – UIA Representative
Wtanya Chanvitan (Thailand), Architect

Alternate Jurors:

Donn Holohan (Ireland), Architect
Alejandro Vargas Marulanda (Colombia), Architect – UIA Representative

Eligibility

The competition is open to any full-time registered students (individual or team) around the world. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. Only students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design or urban planning can register as authors or co-authors. Students from other disciplines can register as collaborators. Participants may not be accompanied by tutors or teachers.

Results

Prize Winners

First Prize
Team Leader: Harvey Rupp (Australia)

University of Western Australia

Project Site: Australia

Second Prize
Team Leader: Hikmet Eda Akbas (Türkiye)

RWTH Aachen University

Project Site: Germany

Third Prize
Team Leader: Manuel Alexander Fustamante Mori (Peru)

University of the Basque Country

Project Site: Spain

Fourth Prize
Team Leader: Sarah Levihn (Germany)

Team Members: Cheng Yu Han and Levin Suresh

Tsinghua University

Project Site: India

Fifth Prize
Team Leader: Armin Maierhofer (Austria)

Royal College of Arts – School of Architecture

Project Site: Switzerland

Honourable Mentions

Team Leader: Lim Zhi Xing (Malaysia)

Team Members: Mehmet DerinIncekas

Tsinghua University

Project Site: India

Team Leader: Atsushi Yamaguchi (Japan)

Team Members: Ryuya Iijima, Rintaro Hirai and Yusuke Takabe

Waseda University Graduate School

Project Site: Japan

Team Leader: Gabriela Pérez Viñoly (Spain)

Team Members: Sara Cruz Francos

Universidad Europea de Canarias

Project Site: Ghana

Team Leader: Sanchit Agrawal (India)

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Project Site: Australia

Team Leader: Zhang Moran (China)

Team Members: Wang Tianyi and Zhang Haimiao

College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University

Project Site: Hong Kong (China SAR)

The winning projects, honourable mentions, and finalist proposals will be exhibited during the UIA 2026 Barcelona World Congress of Architects and presented at the official awards ceremony.

You can find more information and read the Jury Report here.